Falling Together
by CamShaykettAddicted
Summary: "At that moment, it happened. Willow herself didn't know it yet, but deep down, she felt it. This was love at first sight. She had just met her soul mate." A Willow & Tara story that's a bit AU-ish. Set in high school.
1. Chapter 1

_**This is my first attempt at writing a Buffy the Vampire Slayer fanfic. I've wanted to do this for a while know, but never got myself to do it.**_

_**But luckily, I finally did and this is the result. **_

_**Disclaimer: I don't own BtVS or any of its characters. The only thing I own is the idea for this story (and of course some other things, I own a lot of things. It's not like I only own this idea. That would be horrible!).**_

_**I hope you'll like**_** it.**

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**Chapter 1**

She was confused to say the least. Confused and scared. Things she had never considered came rising up in her never silent mind.

* * *

_**A few weeks earlier…**_

Willow Rosenberg was used to being different from everyone else. She had never been able to sit down and have a passage of words with someone who was considered 'normal'. Not a single one of them seemed to be able to understand a single words she said. Except, of course, for her long time best friend Xander, who she had befriended in kindergarten. They had shared a similar way of playing with words, although Willow had always been more advanced, she and Xander understood each other. Luckily, now the two friends had another friend to share their 'weirdness' with. Buffy Summers.

Buffy had been part of the popular crowd at Sunnydale, the first day she set foot in the school. Cordelia, who was like the leader of the popular girls, the cheerleading squad, and acted like the leader of the school, had taken an interest in her right away. She kinda liked someone in her group who was born, and for the biggest part raised, in Los Angeles. But it seemed like Buffy just felt out of place when she saw Cordelia pick on Willow who was just trying to drink some water. So when the brunette girl saw Buffy hanging out with Xander, Jesse and her, her immediate acting was kicking the short blonde out of her perfect group of so called friends.

Willow had felt very jumpy and uncertain of everything when she hung out with the new girl. Although her mind thought Buffy didn't mean any harm, her heart had a whole other feeling. The blonde acted weird whenever she came walking out of the school library and rumors told her she hangs out on cemeteries a lot. But it was not just that. Xander accidentally caused Buffy to drop her bag once when he ran into her (or rather against her) the first day she was at school. All sorts of weird, handmade, wooden weapons had fallen out and were dropped on the ground. Xander had mentioned it to the redhead in one of their daily lunch conversations. The girl had looked up in surprise and had told her friend she believed him, although in her mind, she thought he was crazy. _He must have hit himself hard, _she had thought. Until she saw it herself. The blonde had forgotten to close her bag pack and a wooden stake and crossbow stuck out a little.

Things had been a mystery for Jesse and Xander, but most definitely for Willow, who had fallen asleep at 3 a.m. almost every night after her little 'Buffy bag' encounter. Her poor head couldn't stop thinking and over thinking about what she'd seen. The girl had a condition of uncontrolled babbling and when she couldn't say her thoughts out loud, every thought she had, kept unfolding itself until her head felt like an entangled spider web of unspoken, secret words.

About a week later, during one of her free periods, she walked into the school library. Willow had always been a fan of libraries. Ever since she was old enough to read, she had been walking to the local library every week and leant books. At first with her mom, later on her own, when her mom and dad had stopped caring that much. The older she got, the more difficult the books she read became. Soon, the children's books weren't the only thing the little girl like to read. The non-fictional books became her favorites too. She spent more time reading in those information sources than she did playing outside. She had gotten smarter and smarter each and every day.

Loaded with fun facts, she went to middle school. Because of her brains, the other kids had trouble connecting with her. Jesse was the only one besides Xander who actually liked to talk to her and didn't think her fun facts were boring facts.

This was the first time she set foot in the Sunnydale High School's library. She had heard there was a new librarian who had just moved from England to their city. Although she was psyched to go to the library and look through its collection, Willow was held back by the fact that she was nervous to meet the British man. She hadn't heard anyone mention anything about him. Then again, if there really was something to be afraid of, she would've at least read something about the library in the newspaper.

Willow knew weird things were going on in Sunnydale. She heard suspicious sounds when she lay on her bed late at night, and the newspaper had a daily article for recent deaths and murders. She never felt at ease when she walked outside after sunset. Not alone, not with friends or family, never.

There was definitely something unusual going on in Sunnydale. If only she knew what…

The girl walked into the library and looked around. She was greeted by the librarian who stood behind the counter, probably working on the library's accountancy. He looked like he was in his forties and wore a pair of glasses that looked like they were taken from Harry Potter. She saw a pile of four books lying on the desk. They looked old. Very old. The man looked at her and then the stack of books next to him. Willow saw a glimpse of panic flick through his eyes as he picked up the books and carried them to his office which was located behind the counter. He stumbled a little under the seemingly huge weight. After placing the books on a table, the librarian returned, locking the door to the small room behind him.

"Can I help you?" the man asked her in his English accent, taking off his glasses and cleaning them with a white rag he kept in his pocket.

"Yes, please," Willow started. "I'm looking for the novels. I have no idea where to start looking." She was a little embarrassed by that fact. Usually, Willow went straight for the library on the first day of school.

"You should be able to find them on the le-"

The new librarian was unable to finish his sentence. He was interrupted by a loud thump against the doors. They swung open immediately. Willow, who was facing away from the door, jumped at the sudden sound. She spun around and looked at the blonde girl that came storming in. Willow recognized the short girl straightaway. The blonde, on the other hand, didn't, as she was digging in her bag, looking for something.

"Giles, they found a dead boy in the girls locker room. They're looking for the death cause, but it's obvious he was bitten by a vampire. Should I go out and sta-" The girl had found what she had been searching and held it up in her hand. It was a wooden stake. Willow recognized it as one of the weapons Xander had described. This, along with the words the girl had spoken, left Willow stunned. She didn't know what to do. She was transfixed, unable to move. For once, she was speechless.

By the time the girl had finished what she wanted to say, she looked up, stake in her right hand, looking at the librarian, then the redhead standing next to him. It was obvious she wasn't expecting someone else than the English man to be there, let alone one of her friends.

"Willow?" the short blonde said after a short uneasy silence.

"Buffy?" Willow finally said as she was able to speak again.

The girls just stood there. Staring at each other. Neither of them had any idea what to say or do next. Even the librarian could sense how awkward the situation was and had taken off his glasses to clean them again. Willow broke the staring contest with Buffy to look at the man. _He's nervous too_ she thought to herself. _That's why he's cleaning his glasses. It makes sense now. So the librarian has something to do with this too, that explains why I didn't want to go here up until today. Good work me. _

Willow turned her attention back to Buffy and asked her silently: _What's going on here?_

Buffy looked nervously around her. She knew there was no point in lying to Willow. How could she lie herself out of what she had said when she came storming in? Also, the redhead was smarter than her. She would figure it out eventually. It didn't make it any easier to tell, though.

"Willow, there's no easy way to tell you this, so I'll just get straight to the point… I'm the Slayer." Buffy told her friend.

"Slayer?"

"Slayer."

"Slayer?" Willow asked again.

The librarian, who she hadn't even noticed walking away, came rushing back with one of the old books in his hands. He placed it in her hands and pointed to a paragraph that was part of a hand drawn picture. She read it while the man quoted along: "Into every generation a Slayer is born: one girl in all the world, a chosen one. She alone will wield the strength and skill to fight the vampires, demons, and the forces of darkness; to stop the spread of their evil and the swell of their number. She," he nodded towards Buffy, "is the Slayer."

"Slayer," Willow repeated as she let it sink in.

She looked at the drawing above the quote. It showed a girl, holding two stakes, surrounded by vampires and some other demons that she didn't recognize. She stood on one foot, kicking a demon with the other one and staked a vampire with one of her hands.

_Slayer… Buffy is a Slayer._

"That's me," Buffy ensured her, still a bit shaken, but putting her hands on her hips anyway, pushing her chest forward, still holding the stake. Buffy's pose reminded Willow of a superhero's. The only thing that was missing, was a mild wind blowing through her hair. Willow snickered at her own thought.

"Okay, so Buffy's the Slayer. The only one in all of the world…" Willow tried to clear things up for herself.

"Yep. The one and only."

"But how is the librarian involved in all of this?"

"I'm her Watcher," the English man answered proudly.

"Watcher?"

"Watcher," Buffy repeated.

"And what's the Watcher's job?" Willow wondered. She hated to admit it, but she was getting a bit excited about all the new information she got about her friend.

"Easy," Buffy said grinning. "A Slayer slays, a Watcher watches."

"No." The man seemed offended.

"Oh, I'm just messing with you, Giles."

Mr. Giles gave Buffy a look and turned to the redhead.

"To keep things short, a watcher seeks to prepare the Slayer to fight demonic forces."

"He's my personal trainer," Buffy joked, smiling, proud of her comedic performance. According to her, anyway. Giles was clearly growing tired of Buffy treating his important job with disregard. Willow felt sorry for the man. In the few weeks she had come to know the short girl, she had learnt how annoyingly persistent Buffy could be. Whether it was a joke or an opinion, or anything else for that matter, she would always try to keep it her way. Willow loved her for that, but part of her wished she could just think about the other's feelings. If only just once. It would make a huge difference.

She gave the librarian/Watcher a sympathetic look, and just as she was about to say something, the bell rang, signaling second period was over and third was about to start. The last thing Willow wanted was to be late for class.

"Buffy, we gotta get to class. You coming?" she asked her friend. She really wanted to talk more about this thing that was Buffy's destiny. She knew that it would be hard to do so while walking down the crowded school hallways, but it would be a good reassurance of the girl's safety, both of theirs actually, to keep her as close as possible. Just to keep an eye on each other.

"I'm sorry, Will. It's essential that Giles and I take care of this 'accident'. I'll see you at lunch?"

"Sure," Willow answered as she took off, heading for her next class.

The redhead was rushing through the clearing hallways of the school building, absorbed in her own thoughts. She was about to be late for class.

Speed walking and not looking where she was going, Willow accidentally bumped into another girl, causing her to drop her books and fall. Although Willow really didn't want to be late, she wasn't selfish enough to keep going and not help the girl.

"I'm so, so, so sorry!" Willow exclaimed as she turned around and went straight to the dropped books, gathering them to help the victim of her own stupidity. It only took her a few seconds to make a neat pile of the books again and stand up. She offered the girl her hand, wanting to help her get up too.

The girl accepted her offer and took it, placing her slightly sweaty hand in Willows and rising to her feet. She was trembling a little from aftershock. Willow could see she was a bit nervous. She could tell by the way the girl wouldn't look at her. Her face was hidden by her dark blonde hair.

"I'm really sorry" Willow apologized again. She really was. "Are you okay?"

"Y-yes, I-I am," the girl said. "Thank y-y-you." At that moment, she finally looked up, looking Willow in the eye.

At that moment, it happened. Willow herself didn't know yet, but deep down, she felt it. It would take her a few weeks to recognize the weird feeling in her chest, was her heart skipping a beat, returning every time the girl would say her name. That the amazing light feeling in her stomach were butterflies, finding their way back, whenever they would touch.

Willow looked back, really looked back at the other girl facing her. She lost herself in her amazing ocean blue eyes, losing track of time.

Until she heard the second bell. Third period had just stared. She was late for class! It took her a moment to fully realize that she had to get to class. When it hit her, fear took the better of her, running away, leaving the girl behind.

Willow didn't know it yet, but _this_ was love at first sight. She had just met her soul mate.

Tara.

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_**A/N: So, that was the first chapter. I'm actually proud of how this turned out, so I hope you do too.**_

_** Feedback is always welcome :)**_


	2. Chapter 2

Willow found it almost impossible to focus.

It was seventh period, her last class of the day. After just a few more minutes, it would be a free Friday afternoon.

But unlike all her classmates, and probably everybody else in the school building right now, weekend wasn't the reason why Willow found it hard to concentrate on her school work. Her mind kept running back to that moment between second and third period. Those two minutes had kept haunting her mind ever since it happened and had become harder to shake off when they came back. Willow's heart skipped a beat every time she thought back at the girl taking her hand, the feeling still lingering on her own. The mental picture of the girl's eyes taking her breath away.

Every time, it took the redhead some time to notice she had drifted off into her own world again and let out the breath she had been holding. Time and time again, she looked around to see if someone was looking at her.

This time was no different.

Coming back to reality, Willow looked around her to see if someone was staring at her. Again, no one was.

_What on earth is wrong with me? _She thought.

Just when she was looking at the clock, Willow's teacher told the students to go ahead and pack their stuff. Willow let out a sigh of relief. At least school was over for this week and she could think without anyone other noticing her spacing out.

Finally, the bell rang. All students rushed towards the door, hurrying to go home and take advantage of their free time. Willow, on the other hand, was taking her time, not wanting to be part of the huge and pushy crowd that formed itself at this time of the day.

Willow was alone in the classroom now. Even the teacher had left. He knew about her habit of staying a bit longer at this hour and that she would never trash the place. Being one of the best students of the Sunnydale high school, she had a good reputation and was trustworthy, so everyone just let her be. She turned away from the door, facing the windows. She enjoyed the few of the clearing schoolyard. Willow had always liked it more when everything around her was calm and quiet. Especially when she wanted to think or wasn't feeling too well. Of course, she didn't hate it when it wasn't, but she preferred it. Maybe it had to do with her situation at home.

Closing her eyes, she was starting to zone everything out. For a few seconds, everything around her was quiet. She opened her eyes again, only to be met by someone's face right in front of her. Willow jumped up in shock. But shock was quickly fading into a playful smile and fake anger.

"Buffy!" Willow exclaimed.

"What's up?" Buffy said jokingly, sticking out her tongue to her friend.

"You scared me."

"Yeah, I know."

"Why?"

"I think the real question here is why I had the opportunity to do so. You seem pretty out of it, Will. Back when we had lunchtime… ever since third period… Oh God, is this because I told you I…" Buffy looked around to see if no one else had sneaked into the classroom to listen what they were talking about. When she saw there was nobody else, she continued in a low whisper: "Is it because I told you I'm The Slayer?"

"No! Oh no, not at all! I'm totally, completely, fully fine with that," Willow immediately excluded the possibility for her blonde friend. Buffy was visibly relieved, but after just a few seconds Willow could see the frown returning.

"So you were late for class," Buffy said, knowing how stressed her friend could be when it came to school and being late for her classes. "Is that it? Is this about you being late for third period?"

Quietness.

"Sort of," Willow answered. Technically, it sort of was.

"Then what is it exactly?" Buffy asked curiously.

Willow's eyes darted all over the room. Looking anywhere but at the blonde. What should she say? She wasn't going to tell Buffy the truth. She didn't know why, but she simply couldn't. Something was holding her back and she couldn't let it go. Desperate to come up with a lie Buffy would buy, but failing in the process, Willow made her nervousness audible.

"Uh… uhm…"

Buffy picked up on it rather quickly and looked questioningly at the redheaded girl in front of her.

Hearing familiar footsteps coming from behind her, Willow happily turned her head in the direction the sound was coming from.

"Look, it's Xander!" she said turning back to Buffy. She couldn't thank him enough for coming in on just the right time.

Buffy sighed and rolled her eyes. She knew the moment was ruined. She had meant to ask the redhead at lunchtime too. But every time she attempted to ask, there was something else that seemed more important to either her or the girl. Just when she had her trapped, Xander had to come in and ruin her moment.

"Yay, Xander," Buffy said sarcastically, not even trying to hide it.

Both girls walked towards to taller boy and walked off to their lockers.

"So, tonight. The Bronze. We're still going?" Xander asked.

"Of course we are. What made you feel the need to ask?" Buffy said.

Xander looked at her, then pointed his gaze at Willow, who was lost in her own thoughts once again. Buffy mouthed an _Oh_ and nudged the girl walking between her and Xander. Willow was quickly torn out of them when she fell against and was caught by her 'manly' friend.

"What?"

"Xander asked if you were still coming to the Bronze tonight," Buffy said slightly irritated. Luckily for her, Willow was still too far gone to notice.

"Yeah, sure," she said.

"Great!" Xander's wide smile claimed his face.

"I'll see you guys then," were Willow's last words before she closed her locker and headed home.

* * *

The three friends were sitting at one of the tables in the middle of the slightly crowded Bronze. You could see people ordering drinks at the bar in the back. Others were talking, sitting at the other tables or standing on the sides, and some were dancing in front of the stage where tonight's band was playing: Say Anything. Willow recognized the song they were playing as 'Alive With The Glory Of Love'. She was tapping her foot to the beat against the stool she was sitting on.

Across from her, Xander and Buffy were discussing something. On Buffy's face she could make out their discussion was serious and Xander didn't look too excited either. As much as she wanted to know what it was about, she didn't want to take her mind too much off the band. She was occupied by taking in the lyrics and figuring out their hidden true meaning. Along with that, she was afraid she would start to think about that girl again she ran into earlier that day. That was the last thing she wanted. Because, although she felt happy and good inside when she did, she was confused about those feelings. Never having felt such a thing before, it scared her.

The thing that came closest to those feelings was her crush she has had on Xander ever since they met. And although they came closest, her crush wasn't nearly as strong as these feelings were.

Great. Now she was thinking of it again.

Willow let out a frustrated sigh and placed her head in her hands. Her two friends looked at her, their seemingly important conversation being less interesting than the redhead's weird behavior.

Buffy, who had been trying to make her friend confess what had been keeping her away from this reality, was becoming slightly irritated. She wanted to know so badly, it was killing her, but she knew that it was unlikely for Willow to open up when they were in such a packed place. Since the Bronze was the only club in Sunnydale, everyone was there. You couldn't go one night without running into at least twenty people you knew from school and one or two you had recognized as someone you once saw walking down the street and wanted to meet in a wanting-to-be-more-than-friends way. Knowing Willow has lived here since the day she was born, it was probably even worse for her.

In the little time Buffy had known the redhead, she thought of the girl's moments of zoning out as something characteristic. At least, that was when the friends were playing 'Anywhere But Here'. Other than that, the only time she had seen her spacing out was when she was thinking about Xander. Buffy had known about Willow's crush on Xander the first time they had the chance to talk in private, without Xander or Jesse interrupting them at any given moment. Willow had told her how they broke up over Xander stealing her Barbie and how ever since then, her love had been unrequited.

She could've easily mistaken the other girl's absent-mindedness as her thinking about her 'favorite guy'. To be honest, she had at first! That was until she did it often and, as far as Buffy knew, out of nowhere. Another sign was that she did it now, too. When Xander was sitting right in front of her, and she wasn't even looking at him! Buffy was really becoming suspicious.

Now, waving her hand before the green-eyed girl, the question was right on the tip of her tongue, making its way out as Willow finally landed back on earth.

"Willow, what is going on?" Buffy asked, trying to keep the hint of annoyance but also the concern she didn't want to show out of her voice. Good thing her strong-Slayer-façade was easily put up and was able to hide almost any emotion.

"I… uhm… I… " Willow began, still a bit in a daze, but when she noticed, hastily coming out of it: "NOTHING!"

Buffy and Xander looked at her, both sharing a look of suspicion, but neither saying anything.

Willow was becoming very uneasy. Of course, said uneasiness becoming worse every silent second that passed.

Xander didn't like the tension very much either. After about fifteen seconds of it, it became too much for him and broke.

"Hey! Who wants to go dance? I know I do! Come on guys, let's get our dance on!" he said with faked enthusiasm.

Feeling like she had just been saved by Xander for the second time that day, Willow nodded carefully. She didn't want to dance, but if it meant she didn't have to talk about her dilemma with Buffy, she was happy enough with the opportunity to get away.

Xander, glad some of the heavy tension was lifted, smiled and looked at Buffy.

"Buff?"

"I guess we could," Buffy said, not even trying to hide her annoyance and disappointment this time. Yet another occasion was thrown out the window by Mr. Xander Harris.

"Great!" Xander exclaimed.

Taking one hand of each girl in his, he dragged them over to the dance floor, coming to a halt just in front of the stage.

The band had just finished their third song of the night and were about to start a new one as the lead singer took a few steps forward and brought the microphone to his mouth.

"This one goes out to the brunette lady in the red dress over there," he said pointing at a girl who was standing as close to the stage as physically possible, her back turned to the band, cornering a man in suit. The poor man was shivering in fear, possibly because the girl was threatening him. At least, that was what Willow could make out of it. The girl turned at the singer mentioning her and put on her sweetest smile. It sickened Willow. What was that girl thinking?

"We love our fans, but we'd appreciate it if you wouldn't threaten our manager," the band member finished. Willow could hear some people snickering behind her. She, however, didn't find it funny at all.

_This place really needs a bouncer _she thought, tired of things like this happening.

The lead singer took a few steps backwards and placed the microphone in its stand. Everyone who had been watching the man knew what it meant.

_Slow dancing. Well, that's just great_ Willow thought. This was basically another free pass for Buffy to ask and find out what was bothering her.

The three friends were heading back to their table as someone tapped Xander on the back.

"Hey you," a female voice said. Shocked, Xander turned around. Standing before him was the brunette in the red dress. "Let's dance," she said looking him straight in the eyes, doing weird things with her eyelashes as if flirting with him. Which, although it looked like she had something stuck in her eye and was trying to get it out, she obviously was. If the previous threatening wasn't a huge, unmistakable hint at the girl being close to insane, this was another giveaway. There was definitely something strange about her.

Willow looked at Buffy who was looking at the girl. Her friend had this look on her face that told her she thought so too, and not in the 'God, that girl is weird' way, but as in what Willow would later come to know as her 'possibly a demon' look.

Xander was visibly happy with the attention he was getting. No wonder, she was pretty.

"What are you looking at? Go away," the brunette said irritated. If Willow didn't like her the first time she laid her on the girl, this would've done it. The girl was incredibly rude and trying to dance with Xander!

"I don't think s-" Buffy began, but was cut off by the only boy of the group.

"Buffster, it's okay. You two ladies go sit and I'll take _this_ lovely lady for a dance," he spoke, looking at the brunette and wiggling his eyebrows. If the situation wasn't as annoying as it was, the two girls would've laughed, but now, not even a giggle could escape.

"Come on, Will," Buffy said. "There's no chance in talking some reason into him."

Willow wanted to protest, but she knew Buffy was right. It was probably best to just let it slip.

While walking back to their table, Willow caught sight of something familiar. Or rather someone. Stopping for a split second to take a better look at the person, she noticed the middle long, dark blonde hair, enchanting azure eyes, and beautiful curvy body. Willow's heart skipped a beat after which it continued racing at full speed. All of a sudden, she didn't feel too good. The abrupt nausea made her feel like she was about to vomit. She needed to get out of this place!

Buffy had stopped walking too, missing her friend at her side and looking around. When she found her, the redhead had gone deathly pale.

Willow speed walked back to Buffy.

"I'm going home," she said in an icy voice.

"But-" Buffy started, but Willow was already out of earshot.


End file.
